January 29th

Exodus 35-40

35:1-2: The Sabbath is a great example of how God’s commandments exist for our benefit. We need rest; for most of human history, concepts like “weekends” and “vacations” didn’t exist: you worked all day, every day. God refuses to allow his people to live like that. (Pro tip: even in a culture that has weekends and vacations, a weekly Sabbath is a good idea- we tend to work even on our days off)

35:10-19- Everybody has something to contribute to God’s work. This applies today, too. You don’t need to be a preacher or an evangelist to do the Lord’s work in the world- whatever skills you use in your chosen career can be put to work for God, too.

36: 3-7 – The Israelites worked together to provide all that was needed and more. No one held back or assumed their contribution wasn’t significant enough. This is a beautiful picture of how God’s people can come together to do great things.

Chapters 37-40- If all of this seems extravagant, that’s because it is. But extravagance isn’t always wrong. When we do things for God, we should do them extravagantly and to the very best of our ability. This is why you still see churches today that are beautiful, ornate, and decorated with all sorts of expensive things: we give our best to God. That doesn’t mean smaller or less beautiful churches are inherently inferior, though.